There is plenty that Preston North End can get out of reserve games if they're given the proper attention

They won the game 3-0 against Blackpool but the result is not important, the important thing was getting some much needed minutes into the legs of some of the fringe players or those that have been unavailable lately.

Much has been said from supporters about Josh Onomah since his arrival in January, with excitement over the acquisition and hope to see a player that wants to get fans off their seats and entertain.

He’s played barely half an hour of football for PNE since deadline day. Is it Onomah’s fault? Not really, he was not featuring much at all at Fulham and so lost match sharpness, which is to be expected. Is it Ryan Lowe’s fault? Again, not really. He can’t play someone who is not fit enough and risk results, and when the 25-year-old has been brought on he has looked off the pace at times, although it’s understandable.

The biggest confusion has come from Lowe’s insistence that the reserve team games are not enough to get players up to speed, instead hoping for bounce games.

He changed his mind this week, due to not being able to get a game organised, and went all out in the reserve game instead and it did just the job. It was a great chance for minutes into the legs, Blackpool were not a bad side and they were fit and willing runners to go up against.

Of course it does not replicate the Championship, nothing will, but it’s much better than extra sessions in training up against players you already know and to a point can predict. It was also a great chance to see someone like Josh Seary linking up with Ben Woodburn and Josh Onomah out on the right, something which you would hope to see in the first team at some point. Ground work is being done but youngsters getting game time alongside the regulars.

Goals for Onomah and Liam Delap will boost confidence too, which is never a bad thing. There seems to be so much to gain from giving the reserve team the right attention, especially when you have three games coming up in the space of a week.